Page 8 of Nicolette

“I know you did, and healing isn’t a strength for either one of us,” Polo reminded.

I grunted at that. “If it had been Nine, he’d have fixed her up in half the time.”

“Which is why he’s alpha,” my brother commented absentmindedly as he searched the crowd. “I don’t see her opponent where they normally keep them waiting.”

That couldn’t be good. The only time they did that was if they couldn’t control the creature. Something in my gut told me that something had changed, and there was an undercurrent in the room that I didn’t like one fucking bit. Scanning the crowd, I tried to see what was setting my instincts off, and when I dared to glance up at the private box, I spotted the cause. Next to The Broker was none other than Mortas Boudier, the head of the vampire coven two cities over.

Nine had long suspected that The Broker had a big fish backing him, paving the way for things that never should have been possible.

If Mortas was here, that meant nothing good was going to happen, and the way his blood-red eyes watched the ring had my hair standing on edge. What purpose would he have for Nicolette if that’s who he was after? Everyone knew that man was a sick bastard and loved to play with his food before drinking from it. Always telling everyone fear makes everything taste better. Yet that didn’t explain his appearance with The Broker here, of all nights.

“We have a special treat for you all tonight. If you were wondering what the voting boxes were for when you entered, it was to select the first supernatural our very own Swurve Reaper would be facing off against,” the announcer shared. “Originally, it was going to be the finale of our night, but since we have a special guest with us, things have been moved up. Thanks to all of you for voting. It was a close call between two, but the winning option is… a ghoul!”

While the whole space erupted into cheers, roars, whistles, and clapping, my blood drained from my face as I nearly fell to my knees. Ghouls were mindless creatures born from the souls of those who experienced a traumatic death, making them killing machines, always seeking retribution for their death. No human would be able to fight a ghoul without a weapon, no matter how good they are.

“This has to stop,” I muttered as I dove into the mass of people clawing my way toward the stairs up to The Broker.

Two hobgoblins stepped in my way when I reached them, barring me from my prey. “This area is off limits,” one of them stated. “Turn around and walk away.”

“No, he can’t do this.” I snarled. “She’ll never make it past the first five minutes.”

“The patrons have spoken. They chose what she would be fighting against, not The Broker,” the other bouncer reasoned. “If you’re that worried about it, why don’t you take her place?” he taunted with a harsh laugh.

Hissing at the bastards, I stepped to the side so I could see up to the suite and found both men staring at me. “You’re making a big fucking mistake, you worthless goblin,” I shouted, flipping them both off before I disappeared into the crowd.

Nine would be furious with me if I started something with Mortas here. The last thing we needed was for the leprechaun to have backup in this standoff between our two groups. A whole coven of vampires that size would definitely cause a problem I’m not sure we could win against.

The pride had about three hundred members, but feline shifters had never been a prolific bunch when it came to population. Not only was it harder to survive being bitten, it just was rare for our small number of females to get pregnant. Risking them all to a war with vampires because I had a hard-on for a human would get me executed for damn sure.

“Marco,” Polo shouted as he made his way over to me. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“Back off. I know it wasn’t a smart move, okay?” I snapped. “I can’t just sit by and watch her get gutted by a fucking ghoul. There has to be something we can do?”

“If you’d waited a goddamn minute to listen, the crowd also voted for her to get a weapon, a knife. That gives her a real chance to make it through this,” Polo explained, grabbing my shoulders. “You’re gonna have to get a hold of yourself. If they’re going to keep throwing Supes at her, there’s nothing we can do about it until we talk to Nine. Anything to do with The Broker is like walking on thin ice. One wrong move, and everything shatters.”

“God, could you not be the voice of reason for one minute?” I demanded, shaking him off. “Great, so she’s got a knife, but if that ghoul slices her up, she won’t be able to fight the last round.”

“Then we’ll heal her, the both of us,” he suggested. “I’m sorry, Marco. I know it’s not what you want to hear, and you’re not the only one who cares about her. My cat is called to her as well, but Nine made the rules real fucking clear, and either choice in this means death or banishment.”

“She would be worth it.” I snarled.

Polo just hung his head and let his hands fall away as the buzzer sounded, meaning the fight started.

“Fucking house cat, running scared when someone actually needs us,” I spat, shoving past him to get closer to the ring.

The fight was brutal, just like I knew it would be. The ghoul looked like something out of your worst nightmare. Gangly arms and legs with long claws, razor-sharp teeth, and grayish skin that seemed to hang off its bony skeleton. They didn’t talk or communicate as far as I knew, but what savage beast would? Its only purpose was to kill and destroy whatever dared to enter its territory. Many believe that just killing the body didn’t destroy the creature. You had to burn the corpse, or it would simply reappear in the same place on the next full moon.

I held my breath as I watched. She moved like the goddess of war, a fierce expression on her face with determination glittering in her gray-green eyes as she attacked. Blood ran down one arm as the ghoul caught her shoulder, but she used that to her advantage, thrusting the knife into its gut and thrusting up. Its entrails spilled out onto the floor of the ring, but it didn’t slow the ghoul much. She slipped in the blood and fell on her ass which the ghoul took advantage of, pouncing on her.

“Nicolette,” I screamed, as terror filled me. “Live, you suborn bitch, live.”

If I had the power to will something into existence, it would be that wish. Just for her to survive this encounter, and I would do everything in my power to keep her alive. The ghoul twitched and thrashed its claws, slicing any flesh it came in contact with until it let out an ear-piercing screech before it slumped over top of her.

Two handlers entered the ring and dragged the ghoul off Nicolette. Then the announcer walked over to her, pressed two fingers to her neck, and thrust her arm into the air. “Swurve is the winner!”

Two other men hurried in with a makeshift stretcher, loaded her up, then headed out of the ring toward the locker room she’d left moments before. Without a second thought, I hurried after them, but before I could make it into the locker room, I was yanked back and slammed against a wall.

“What do we have here?” An elegant voice commented with a slight French accent. “If it isn’t a little pussy cat sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.”